Imperial China

Paper Summary:

The paper refers to the Opium trade and Opium Wars as a collective tragedy whose obverse was the arrival of new thinking to challenge the corrupt Manchu status quo. The paper offers an account of missionary areas, RC and Protestant, new ideas, social reform, literacy and inspiration for the Taiping movement. The paper discusses whether overall the Christian influence is effective or not and if it brought new ideas to sectors in need of support and hope for the future. The paper stresses that it is a significant period in the modern religious history of China.

From the Paper:

"The Opium Wars of 1839-1842, and 1856-1860 are discussed as tragic experiences in modern Chinese history. However, in this paper, it is possible to see conflict as having some beneficial results. In the aftermath of the 1st Opium War of 1839-1842, the Chinese were forced to concede that the old imperial system could not contend with European power. After the second Opium War of 1856-1860, convenient ideas of being a superior civilization were put to rest, as China became inundated with new ideas as distributed by expanded European trading privileges, the arrival of Christian missionaries, and the rise of Hong Kong as a window on the outside world."

More papers on Imperial China:

• Analytical Essay # 31661 : "Loewe, Yu and Han China."
• Essay # 87783 : "Women in China"
• Analytical Essay # 131103 : "Unificiation of China During the Early Imperial Period"

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